Hardwired... to Self-Destruct received generally positive reviews from critics, and in 2020, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich ranked the album as the band's best.

In March 2015, Ulrich told Rolling Stone that twenty songs had been written for the album, and that he hoped some of them could be played at their shows later in the year.

[10] On February 6, 2016, during their "The Night Before" show at AT&T Park prior to Super Bowl 50, James Hetfield said that the band was nearing the end of the recording process, and Ulrich said that the album would be released soon.

"I think [2016] will be a pretty in-your-face year, at least the back half of it... hopefully we should be able to knock that on the head (finishing the album) this spring, I would guess".

[12] In March 2016, Hammett said that the band had worked with Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed Death Magnetic, as producer on the new album.

[18] Since Hammett did not back up the data, it affected his creative input for the new album and he "had to start at zero again while [Hetfield and Ulrich] had material for songs.

"[19] Trujillo's sole writing credit on the album was the introduction to "ManUNkind", which he later said was written as a tribute to former Metallica bassist Cliff Burton.

"[citation needed][21] Familiar lyrics dealing with the H. P. Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos are explored on "Dream No More", and "Murder One" serves as a tribute to the late Motörhead frontman Lemmy, who died in December 2015; the song was named after the bassist's favorite amplifier.

[22][23] In a live Facebook event on August 18, 2016, Lars Ulrich said the album would be released in November 2016, and would contain twelve tracks.

In place of the thirteen "Riff Origins" songs that the band had initially included on the third disc, the band included "Ronnie Rising Medley", which the band had recorded for the Ronnie James Dio tribute album Ronnie James Dio – This Is Your Life in 2014, covers of Deep Purple's "When a Blind Man Cries" and Iron Maiden's "Remember Tomorrow", and remastered versions of the nine songs performed live at Record Store Day on April 16, 2016, along with a live version of "Hardwired".

[28] Ulrich also told The Straits Times that same day that the band would be filming music videos for all twelve tracks on the album, using YouTube as their platform.

[31] Metallica promoted Hardwired... to Self-Destruct with the WorldWired Tour, which began in Puerto Rico on October 26, 2016, and concluded in Mannheim on August 25, 2019.

[32] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said although the album featured all of Metallica's core music elements, he thought the band did not sound as ferocious as it did in its '80s heyday.

Club had a mixed impression, saying "77 minutes of endless thrashing gets tiring" and thought the songs would benefit from leaner songwriting.

[44] Writing for Rolling Stone, David Fricke said Hardwired... to Self-Destruct reminded him of ...And Justice for All and Metallica, having the "jagged apocalypse" of the first and the "focused brawn" of the second.

[42] Pitchfork's Zoe Camp also felt that the album was "an attempt to revisit their early days", similar to Death Magnetic, but adding that "the only difference is that this time they sound like they’re actually trying, and maybe even having a bit of fun".

[40] Greg Kot of The Chicago Tribune opined that Hardwired... to Self-Destruct was not comparable to Metallica's finest work, and predicted the album will be quickly forgotten as its promotional tour is done.

[38] Sputnikmusic's Trey Spencer wrote that, performance-wise, Hetfield's voice sounded reinvigorated, but complained on Ulrich's drumming for not "breaking a sweat" on most of the tracks.

[36] Adrien Begrand of PopMatters complimented the band's concise songwriting and wise selection of songs for not including ballads and long instrumentals.

[41] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph felt the album was "80 minutes of in-your-face shouty rage with absolutely no let-up", and that "if it was half as long, it would have been twice as effective".

[37] Hardwired... to Self-Destruct debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 291,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, of which 282,000 were pure album sales.

[73] Hardwired... to Self-Destruct had the biggest opening week of 2016 in Australia with 26,000 copies sold, debuting at number one on the ARIA chart.